BOTNET is the product of a vision to collect and manage disparate stores of botanical data and information and provide internet access to the information for botanists on all public, professional and student levels. The vision also seeks to encourage local botanical data preparation and management and to establish "common ground" means of providing remote access to the information through easily accessible Web-based tools. The intent is not to create a central repository of all botanical information, but to create a network of peer institutions and organizations regardless of the amount or depth of data and information resident at each location.
The process at UNC began with a grant from the Instructional Technology Program from the Chancellor of UNC Chapel Hill, for 1997-1998. This initial effort seeks to address the UNC Herbarium, which is the largest herbarium in the Southeastern United States, and to begin building a specimen database and to capture selected specimen images on a high-resolution digital camera to assist those accessing the database in accurate identification.